This recipe comes from Yotam Ottolenghi – who if you are looking for veggie recipes or those with little meat then he is your guy. His books are lovely and usually influenced by middle eastern flavours. Although the chapters of his book are called things like ‘tossed’ but if you can get over that then he’s braw.

The first time you make this you will need to make the chili oil but then you can keep it for ages and keep using *(like more than a month). You can also do it without the oil and use chili sauce to get the same sort of impact. But the oil is really good so do that. The soup recipe makes about 4 portions so you can have it over two nights or have pals. You can also keep and freeze.

Ingredients for Chili Oil:

• 180mls of sunflower oil (or any flavorless oil with a high smoking point)
• 1 banana shallot
• 1 garlic clove
• Thumb sized piece of root ginger
• 1/2 red chili
• 1/2 star anise
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp tomato puree
• grated zest of 1/2 small lemon.

Method for Chili Oil:

• Roughly chop the shallot, garlic, ginger, chili
• Heat 2 Tbsp of the sunflower oil in a small saucepan
• Add the shallot, garlic, chili, ginger, star anise and curry powder
• Fry over a low heat for 5 mins stirring until shallot is soft
• Add the tomato puree and cook for 2 more mins
• Add remaining oil, lemon zest and simmer for 30 mins.
• Leave to cool and then strain through a muslin cloth, j-cloth or just a sieve is ok.
• Store oil in jar or an oil bottle (you know the kind you would put salad dressing in).
• DONE.

Ingredients for soup:

• 120g sugar snap peas
• 3 Tbsp sunflow oil
• 1 medium onion
• 1 and 1/2 Tbsp thai red curry paste
• 2 lemongrass stalks (bashed with a rolling pin)
• 12 dried kafir lime leaves
• 250g red lentils
• 250ml coconut milk
• 1 and 1/2 Tbsp lime juice
• 1 snd 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
• handful coriander leaves
• salt
• chicken stock cubes x 2

Method for soup:

• Bring a small pan of water to the boil and throw in the sugar snap peas for exactly 90 seconds.
• Drain them and refresh them under cold water, set aside to dry.
• When dry cut them on a prat-like angle to make them look like the picture. (leave on the side)
• Heat the oil in a pot and add the chopped onion – cook till completely soft and sweet
• Stir in the curry paste and cook for 1 min
• Add the lemongrass, lime leaves, red lentils and 700ml of chicken stock You can sub out the lentils for chopped butternut squash and it would be v nice.
• Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15-30 mins until lentils (or butternut squash) is completely soft.
• Remove from the heat remove the lime leaves and lemongrass
• Blend the soup smooth (using a stick blender if you have one) DONT BURN YOUR FACE put a tea towel over the pan while you do it.
• Add coconut milk, lime juice, soy sauce 1/2 tsp salt and stir.
• Heat back up and serve, scatter with sugar snap peas and coriander and drizzle chili oil on top (vegilicious)